The energy of the group was wonderful and blended easily as we agreed to work from the footbridge. One woman called upon the Spirit of the Sage for protection and opened our event. She called to the 7 directions and "saged" us. The sage was blessed and released to the river. I called to Great Spirit to send in any and all Spirit water-healers for this process who could assist us for the highest good of the river.

"She who sings with the Drum" started drumming while another kept time with her hands clapping. The sound traveled loudly across the river calling ALL to attention. I started to notice the energy along the sides of the river moving upward - like a slow moving wave. It was an energy that seemed old and stagnant which hadn't been moved in years. As this old energy moved upward, I noticed a few Spirit ancestors coming through the energy as if forcing their way through a sliver of an opening. I watched with fascination as more and more ancestors came through to see what was going on. They wanted to know where the drumming was coming from and what was happening. The voice of the drum continued with a strong steady beat. When everyone had gathered, the drummer enlivened the beat, pushing it, faster and faster until the voice stopped. The silence told us that the right energy for the event was in order and we were ready to proceed. After the drumming a family of rats came out and played on the bank and there was a pair of Canadian Geese who joined us for the whole ceremony.

One woman, a local artist, called to the River Goddess and offered the river sweet honey while making a prayer for the healing of the river. Anne and Peg, two women known for their worldwide relationships with Dolphins, spoke in earnest about the water and made prayers for all life supported by it. Others made their prayers quietly.

"She who sings with the Drum" listened for a while and began to explain what she had just learned: She said there were still companies polluting the river; they are still leaching chemicals into the river. She did an "Environmental Clearing" using a pendulum and put a discernment field on the water which would prevent further abuse of the river waters. We sent healing to the townspeople and their leaders, to awaken them to the need to protect and nurture these waters.

We took a clutch of tobacco, each taking a part of it, and sent a prayer into our own bit of it. We spent time at this before the energy of our prayers in the tobacco was gathered from us and thrown into the riverway. Moments after the prayers were merged with the water, in a nearby part of the river, hundreds of small fish simultaneously broke the surface of the water around the tobacco. Up and out they jumped, high over the river, creating a spectacular display similar to fireworks in the evening sky.

When we first arrived on the footbridge, we could see a lone metal shopping cart and a tire at the bottom of the river. Now we could see nothing. The water  became muddied for quite some time. We continued to send the energy of "Love" into the river. The ducks suddenly became quite vocal and one young duck even swam beneath us, turned his head and looked straight up at us!

As the energy continued to work, we formed a prayer circle. A red-bodied Dragonfly landed at our feet. I knew another friend was now represented here. This dragonfly had a very strong presence and everyone was quite animated about her presence having joined us. We spontaneously joined hands around her in gratitude for the event and for all - both seen and unseen - who had participated. As we dispersed, most of us continued to stand in the shape of a circle while the dragonfly stood in a space large enough for another person to fill. She, the dragonfly and our friend, took a strong position there in the circle. I kept feeling the presence of my friend as dragonfly stayed with us. She sure wanted us to be sure to note her participation with us even though she couldn't be there in person.

The blue Heron downstream who had arrived at the beginning of the ceremony took flight when the ceremony ended. It was rather a dramatic ending with another duck flying up over the dam and over our heads as if to say thank you.

Once again we turned our attention to the water to see how it was progressing. It was remarkably clearer! We could now see the tire clearly and not 1 shopping cart but 3 !! now spanning quite a distance!

Our efforts DID make a noticeable difference!  It was a fantastic experience.  --Martha